Liliha residents upset over work stoppage on park upgrade

LILIHA (KHNL) - After the city suddenly stops work on a Kunawai Park, neighbors now want answers over what happened and when they'll again have a safe place to play.

While it looks like a construction zone, it is actually a popular county park. Like most parks, there is no alcohol or camping allowed at Kunawai Park. And when you look around, you'll see there's a lot of other NO's to this play area.

"There's no lights, no drinking water, no bathroom,no nothing - its terrible!" said neighbor Carl Mossman.

It has been this way ever since city crews, renovating the comfort station, discovered the walls they intended to re-use were not up to code.

"This park has been like this for several months, not one month, two months but months," added Mossman.

And the city says there won't be any new construction at the park, until more funds are found for a new comfort station. That could take years.

Until then, the crumbling walls will eventually come down. And the site demolished. So kids can once again play safely in the park, something they haven't be able to do over the past six months.

"Its appalling to me, that the kids have to traverse through all the rubble," added park user, Sam Henderson.

Power will eventually be turned back on to the lights over the basketball court, and water hooked up again to fountains. There are even plans to install a handicapped parking space.

But there remains uncertainty over whether this neighborhood park will ever again have bathrooms and storage areas for equipment.

And some nearby residents are upset their park will never be the same.

"Give us back our park, we're not asking for much, it is such a shame it looks like this," said Mossman.

Residents will get a raise their concerns to the County of Honolulu and lawmakers during a community meeting Thursday, May 7th at 6:30pm, at Kunawai Park.

In 2015, the Federal government passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, allowing states to limit the amount of time that students take standardized tests. A similar bill is traveling through the Hawaii legislature.

In 2015, the Federal government passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, allowing states to limit the amount of time that students take standardized tests. A similar bill is traveling through the Hawaii legislature.